Heel retaining means for shoes



April 8, 1941. L. SAB 2.237.317

HEEL RETAINING MEANS FOR SHOES Filed Dec. 2l, 1939 JNVENTOR. ouzls JaaATTR/VE'Y.

Patented Apr. 8, 1941 l UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEEL RETAINING MEANSFOR SHOES Louis Sabo, New York, N. Y., assigner to Delman Inc., NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York My invention relates to the artof shoemaking.

The object of my invention is to provide a shoe which is made with awooden heel generally known as a Louis heel which is formed to provide acurved extending portion which rests under the shank of the shoe locatedadjacent to the heel; to add to such a construction, a brace whichserves to hold said extending portion of the heel `in iirmly fixedrelation with the arched shank portion of the shoe and to preventrelative movement therebetween.

A further object is to provide a shoe with a brace for the purposestated, which will lie upon and conform to the curvature of the heel andshank at their point of juncture in such a manner as to be inconspicuousand substantially concealed from view by the usual flap portion used incover- `ing the breast of the heel.

thin strong metal formed with corrugations which extend upwardly fromthe base line of the under side of the brace and are closely adjacent,to stiffen the brace in the direction of its width while permitting thebrace to bend easily in a direction at a right angle thereto.

Further objects of the invention and the advantages gained by the useofthe improved construction will be further disclosed hereinafter:

Referring to the drawing which forms a part oi the specication:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the side and arch portions of a shoe,and having a Louis heel thereon a portion of which is covered by a bracewhich extends therefrom over a portion of the shank adjacent thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a brace consisting of a thin metal plate suchas hard rolled copper, formed with corrugations which extend across itswidth, and having apertures thru which cement may flow.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on lines 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top or plan view of a brace formed without corrugations.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing abrace construction formed with extended apertures.

Fig. 6 isa plan view of a brace plate in which the apertures areomitted; the two holes shown being used to permit brads to pass thru inthe act of attaching the brace to the shoe.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of a brace in which slots are formedbetween the corrugations.

Fig. 9 is a View of a portion of a brace having corrugations formed bya` crimping process whereby a greater number of corrugations may beformed in a given length to increase its stiiness, and to increase thearea of surface whereby the cement will serve to more rmly unite thebrace with the leather or wood over which it extends.

While in most of the views I have shown the brace as extending `in aplane thruout its length, it will b-e understood that in most cases thebrace will be curved to conform with the curvature of the extendingportion of the heel on which it rests.

Since the use of Louis heels are well known in this art, the extendingportion of the heel overlying the shank, will hereinafter be referred toas the flange.

In a former patent granted to myself and anv other, and bearing thepatent No. 2,167,526, a heel retaining means is disclosed whichfunctions well for the purpose designed, but its construction has beenfound to be expensive in first cost, and in time required to attach itto a shoe;l also on account of its thickness it imparts an unsightlyappearance to the shank of the nished shoe.

By the use of the present construction a stronger joint is effected, andthe leather flap covering the brace effectively conceals it withoutdisclosing its .presence in the shoe.

l0 indicates a shoe having a wooden heel of the Louis type thereon whichis formed to provide a curved flange Il which extends over the shank I2in the usual manner.

lu' indicates a flap formed integral with vthe outsole of the shoe andserving to cover the fiange H and the breast of the heel Il in the usualmanner.

I3 indicates a cement used in` shoemaking, which is applied to theflange ll and shank portions |2 and breast Il.

I4 indicates a brace-plate embodying my invention, which is immersed inthe cement and extends over the fiange and shank of the shoe at theirjunction, as illustrated, pressure being applied to the brace-plate toforce it into close contact with the surface thereunder while a brad isinserted in the openings l5 to assist in holding the brace-plate inposition, and thereafter the flap I0 is cemented to the shank,brace-plate and heel in the usual manner.

The thickness of the brace-plates is approximately one sixty-fourth ofan inch, and the corrugations are about one thirty-seconds of an inchhigh, and the leather of the flap is sufficiently thick and soft toencase the brace-plate and hide completely, as will be readilyunderstood by shoemakers.

Therefore it will be understood that the drawing are made on an enlargedscaley the corrugations actually being in the form illustrated in Fig. 9and indicated by I6, and extending entirely above the lower side I8 ofthe brace.

In Fig. 8, I have shown a brace having slots I8 formed in the lower sideof the corrugations, thru which cement may pass to insure completecovering of all exposed surfaces in the act of cementing the partstogether.

t9 indicates thin depen-ding sharp edge portions of the brace-platewhich are found useful when using :a plate made as illustrated inFigures 4, and 5, which may be used Without cement if desired, theapertures I1 .being used as guides for brads which force the circularedges of the depending portions into the wood of the flange or leatheroi the shank in the act of securing the brace-plate to the shoe, andprevent the brads from tearing thru the pleite under strain and alsoprevent any shifting of the plate relative to the flan-ge or shank `towhich it is attached.

It will be `understood that the upper side of the corrugations whenfilled with cement, present a smooth upper surface to the under side ofthe leather ap I0 `and at the same time serve to impregnlate the.leather of the nap at the points of juncture with the cement, and t-hatthe under '2f side of the brace-plate serves the same function inuniting the woo-d or leather `of the shank with the brace-plate.

`Having thus described my invention I claim as new:

l. Means for retaining a Louis heel on a shoe, consisting of a singlebase-plate of thin strong .flexible material of less length than :theWidth of the shank of a` shoe to which it is to be attached and havingapertures therein between its ends to serve as passages for fluid'cement used in securing the heel t-o a shoe.

2. Means ior retaining a Louis heei on a shoe, comprising a hase-plateof thin strong material of less length than the width of the shank of ashoe to which it is to `loe yattach-ed and having a number oftransversely extending corrugations formed therein to stiffen theconstruction.

3. The construction defined in claim 2, together with; said base-platehaving apertures therein which form lpassages for fluid cement used insecuring the base-plate to the heel and shank ofthe shoe.

4. Means for `retaining a Louis heel on a shoe, comprising a base-plateof thin me-tal of less length than the width of the shank of a sho-e towhich it is to be attached, and having apertures therein with side wailswhich `depend from the under side of the base-plate.

5. In a shoe having a Louis heel ythe flange of which extends over aportion of the shank of the shoe, that improvement which consists inapplying ilu-id cement to said flange and the shank Iportion adjacentthereto, -oi a base plate made of thin strong material immersed in saidcement and termed with apertures which serve as passages for the -cementto now thru, said base-plate extending over a portion of said flange:and shank a't their junction, and means for covering said base-plate.

6. The construction defined in -cla-im 5, together with; said base-platehaving `corrugations eX- tending transversely of the length thereofwhich serve to hold cement and to form a support for the base-platecovering means.

'7. In .a process for attaching a reinforcing plate to a shoe having aLouis heel the ange of which extends over a portion of the shank of `theshoe, that improvement which consists in applying fluid cement to saidflange and the .shank 'portion adjacent thereto, an-d immersing aIbase-plate made of thin strong flexible material, yof ifess length thanthe width thereof, in cement, and applying the same over a portion ofsaid ange and the adjacent shank portion of the shoe, and then coveringsaid base-plate With a sole flap.

LOUIS SABO.

